[sibyrnes]

In comparison to my K 28 3.5 or K 35 3.5 it's very blurry. If i take pictures, even wide open, i can see every blade of grass on its own.

The pictures themselves are great I like the autumn colors!

That post is over a year old but I now have a response.

I agree with the above stated opinion and have since obtained a K 35 f3.5 and a K28 f3.5. I haven't had a chance to really use the 28mm but here's the 35 in action:

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[sibyrnes]

One of my latest favorites on my K-1 is my 25mm Distagon:

[lesmore49]

I've got my K1 and the 28-105. That 28-105 is really an excellent lens, very happy with it and quite impressed with it's performance and the reasonable price. I do wish it was a 24-105...but the 28 is good for most things. I do have a Pentax 12-24, but this is an ASP-C lens essentially, I find.

I do like ultra wide, although the 15-30 is too much for my budget. I have been reading about the Irix Blackstone 15mm F 2.4, metal body...Swiss design, South Korean made....users seem to love this lens. It's manual focus, but being an ultra wide...some say manual focusing is not difficult.

This would be a lens I wouldn't mind having, but I can't find any dealers in Canada that sell it. I could get it from the states ( B+H ) I suppose, but I've never had anything photographic equipment shipped in from the USA. Duty, shipping, etc. a concern.

Hopefully Irix will distribute in Canada soon. Another manual focus is the Rokinon ultra wide angle (14mm I think). I don't know how this lens compares with the Irix in build quality and image quality. I do think this lens is available for sale in Canada.

It would be nice if Pentax comes out with a prime, ultra wide at a reasonable cost...say around $ 1,000 CDN. +/-...but I don't see this on the horizon. It's on the lens map, I believe, but I haven't heard when or if this lens will be coming down the pike.

Am I missing any other K mount, ultra wides...available new...out there ?

[texandrews]

I've got my K1 and the 28-105. That 28-105 is really an excellent lens, very happy with it and quite impressed with it's performance and the reasonable price. I do wish it was a 24-105...but the 28 is good for most things. I do have a Pentax 12-24, but this is an ASP-C lens essentially, I find.

I do like ultra wide, although the 15-30 is too much for my budget. I have been reading about the Irix Blackstone 15mm F 2.4, metal body...Swiss design, South Korean made....users seem to love this lens. It's manual focus, but being an ultra wide...some say manual focusing is not difficult.

This would be a lens I wouldn't mind having, but I can't find any dealers in Canada that sell it. I could get it from the states ( B+H ) I suppose, but I've never had anything photographic equipment shipped in from the USA. Duty, shipping, etc. a concern.

Hopefully Irix will distribute in Canada soon. Another manual focus is the Rokinon ultra wide angle (14mm I think). I don't know how this lens compares with the Irix in build quality and image quality. I do think this lens is available for sale in Canada.

It would be nice if Pentax comes out with a prime, ultra wide at a reasonable cost...say around $ 1,000 CDN. +/-...but I don't see this on the horizon. It's on the lens map, I believe, but I haven't heard when or if this lens will be coming down the pike.

Am I missing any other K mount, ultra wides...available new...out there ?

You really need to check out the Irix lenses, either the WR Blackstones or the less expensive Fireflies. I am extremely pleased with my Irix 15 Blackstone. It does have some vignetting (pretty easily dealt with in Post), some apertures worse that others. But in terms of the other distortions, it's the lens to beat IMO. It's not that much more expensive than the Samyang/Rokinon/Bower 14's, and much better build quality and distortion characteristics. And I'm a fan of Samynag/Rokinon/Bower.

[lesmore49]

You really need to check out the Irix lenses, either the WR Blackstones or the less expensive Fireflies. I am extremely pleased with my Irix 15 Blackstone. It does have some vignetting (pretty easily dealt with in Post), some apertures worse that others. But in terms of the other distortions, it's the lens to beat IMO. It's not that much more expensive than the Samyang/Rokinon/Bower 14's, and much better build quality and distortion characteristics. And I'm a fan of Samynag/Rokinon/Bower.

Good to know. I always appreciate actual user's experience with equipment. I understand the depth of field is so great that manual focusing is not really much of an issue. The metal body also appeals to me. Thanks for responding.

Les

[texandrews]

Good to know. I always appreciate actual user's experience with equipment. I understand the depth of field is so great that manual focusing is not really much of an issue. The metal body also appeals to me. Thanks for responding.

Les

Sadly, I can't publicly post the images I've taken with this lens---I'm doing them for the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden under contract. But I could share something with you privately this week if you like.

[Zink]

Good to know. I always appreciate actual user's experience with equipment. I understand the depth of field is so great that manual focusing is not really much of an issue. The metal body also appeals to me. Thanks for responding.

Les

I have the 15mm Firefly and love it. I'm usually hiking when I use it, so I don't mind giving up some build quality for a few less grams. Even then, the Firefly still has a very solid feel to it!

You can see a some images I have taken with it here on Flickr...

[lesmore49]

I have the 15mm Firefly and love it. I'm usually hiking when I use it, so I don't mind giving up some build quality for a few less grams. Even then, the Firefly still has a very solid feel to it!

You can see a some images I have taken with it here on Flickr...

Thanks for the info and the pictures. Much appreciated.

---------- Post added 12-04-17 at 09:56 PM ----------

Sadly, I can't publicly post the images I've taken with this lens---I'm doing them for the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden under contract. But I could share something with you privately this week if you like.

Thx for the offer. I have checked out some pix on this forum and internet. Sounds like you have very good confidence in the Irix, using it professionally.

Les

double-plus-good on the Irix 11mm "Blackstone" rectilinear ultra-wide - ordered mine on Friday, it arrived on Saturday, and today's Sunday - can't say I've got much experience with it, but it costs half what the Pentax 15-30 zoom does and seems like a terrific lens. First experimental attempt at actual use attached - modified only to improve EV. (Peaches doesn't seem to appreciate being experimented upon.) Just noticed, though, lens apparently reports itself to the camera as "firefly", but this one's definitely the heavier, fully weather-resistant, metal enclosed Blackstone version. And by the way, the slope of the land in the picture is not just due to the camera, though that's a contributing factor - it really is sloped that way.

One reviewer found the manual focus (it does not support autofocus at all) to be "gritty", but that's not the case at all with mine - it does offer positive resistance to turning, which I regard as a good thing - but it rotates smoothly. It has a focus-lock but there's probably little need to use it.

("Ultra-wide" - sounds like the latest thing in trailer park living, don't it?)

Addendum - it's as if the thing has two levels of focus: "right here" and "infinity". The dial goes from six settings indicated, all from less than a foot, up to one foot, to two feet, then to infinity (and beyond!). The picture of rocks was taken from a height of about 1' 9".

[Ash]

Rokinon 14/2.8 does a clinical job of wide angles. Great sharpness and aberration control at the expense of barrel distortion. But this is indeed the new in thing with ultra-wide angle lenses (how wide can you go). The Rokinon has smooth focusing and auto aperture feature. Overall a pleasant surprise for its $250 price tag.

Irix "Blackstone" 11mm "superwide": Railroad bridge picture shows the distortion when the subject is near enough (I was about sixty feet from the bridge, standing next to the creek), cattle "out standing in their field) w/ same lens - negligible distortion w/wide vistas. Blue Ridge Mts. in the background, can you guess why they're called "the Blue Ridge"? Both pictures unprocessed.

[sas8888]

Another fan of the Irix 11mm with the K1

[MASTERFIRE]

Why is PENTAX not producing a lens equivalent to their DA* (star) 16-50mm f/2.8 AL SDM, which is not compatible with the K 1? It's a fast WA zoom that's great for quickly changing situational shooting ...no lens to change if a 50 mm fl is needed. I use a SIgma DX 17-35, which is not a bad choice, but the K 1 deserves something closer to the DA 16-50* (star) lens....feedback, please.

[cmohr]

Why is PENTAX not producing a lens equivalent to their DA* (star) 16-50mm f/2.8 AL SDM, which is not compatible with the K 1? It's a fast WA zoom that's great for quickly changing situational shooting ...no lens to change if a 50 mm fl is needed. I use a SIgma DX 17-35, which is not a bad choice, but the K 1 deserves something closer to the DA 16-50* (star) lens....feedback, please.

HD Pentax-D FA 24-70mm F2.8 ED SDM WR is the FF equivalent in angle of view to the 16-50 with is a APS-C lens.

There is NO manufactureererer , Nikon, Canon, Sigma, Tokina that offers a Full Frame Lens, from ultra wide to standard focal length, the possible closest would be the Canon EF 17-40mm F4.

[clackers]

Why is PENTAX not producing a lens equivalent to their DA* (star) 16-50mm f/2.8 AL SDM, which is not compatible with the K 1? It's a fast WA zoom that's great for quickly changing situational shooting ...no lens to change if a 50 mm fl is needed. I use a SIgma DX 17-35, which is not a bad choice, but the K 1 deserves something closer to the DA 16-50* (star) lens....feedback, please.

?

The DFA 15-30 f2.8 and DFA 24-70 f2.8 are superb glass, take your pic, Masterfire!